A great read for food fans who like books full of recipes that they might actually want to make. In this memoir, the author experiences love, loss, and good food, including recipes that have served her well (and some others that haven’t). The recipes, mostly Italian, look delicious. The author’s love life doesn’t seem to turn out as well, but her bravo and wit make it worth rooting for her. A debut that leaves the reader wanting more.

One of my very first attempts at cooking a meal was Mexican Lasagna. It was the first time I had invited multiple people to dinner and served an entire meal, complete with sides, beverages, and dessert. It turned out great, not just as a first attempt but as a good dish in general, so much so that I have made it several times when feeding a crowd for the first time.

Every time, though, I never managed to take any pictures. I have also updated the recipe as I have grown as a cook. This most recent version is from an anniversary dinner I cooked for James, his parents, and his brothers. So here, for the first time, is my version of the recipe with pictures!

Mexican Lasagna
adapted from Southern Cooking

1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt, divided
1 lb ground beef
1 (16 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup picante sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 (24 oz) container low-fat small-curd cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1 tsp dried oregano
12 (5 inch) corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375F and coat a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil using medium heat. Saute onions and garlic in 1/2 tsp of salt for 3-5 minutes, until softened. Add ground beef  to skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Add chili powder, cumin, and remaining 1/2 tsp of salt and stir until spices are evenly distributed in beef mixture. Add corn, tomato sauce, and picante sauce; bring liquid to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, oregano and garlic salt.

Arrange tortillas on bottom and up sides of the prepared baking dish. Spoon half of meat mixture over tortillas; top with cottage cheese mixture. Arrange remaining tortillas over cheese mixture; top with remaining meat mixture.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serving suggestions: serve with a side of mexican rice and toppings such as sour cream, onions, peppers and blue corn tortilla chips.

Usually, where there is a purpose, there is a re-purpose. Re-purposing is when you take an item, such as pillowcase, and use it for a purpose it was not originally intended for, like placing over a broom like a dust mop. Real Simple magazine highlights re-purposing monthly in a column called “New Uses for Old Things,” which covers everything from using a shoe organizer to store art supplies to using an old ketchup bottle as a pancake batter dispenser.

Who, as a child, did not offer their mother a gift of an old soup or coffee can, painted and perhaps decorated with glitter? I know I did (I believe mine was wrapped in old wallpaper). There is a sense of joy in re-purposing, finding new and different uses for items that might otherwise end of up in the trash.

I have spoken before about my dislike for single-purpose items, like cherry pitters and avacado slicers, so I am always delighted to find ways to re-purpose items like melon ballers or cookie scoopers. The way I see it, if I can find 10 uses for a melon baller, I am getting much more bang for my buck than just using it to ball melon.

Sometimes the re-purpose of an item is for decoration, such as using empty wine bottles as candle holders or turning empty salt and pepper shakers as bud vases. Other re-purposes are more functional, like using a turkey baster to change the water in a vase of flowers. Either way, I am delighted when I find a nifty re-purpose idea that I can actually implement myself. And I am not the only one, check out this blog entry on Waste Not Want Not from Young House Love.

For tons of Sweet re-purpose ideas, check out Real Simple’s 101 New Uses of Old Things.

Welcome to Muffin Madness! Let’s kick things off with the perfect fall muffin, made with the flavors of pumpkin, cherry, and autumn spices. These muffins are perfect for breakfast or a little after-dinner dessert.

The original recipe from Cooking Light magazine calls for dried sweetened cranberries, but I substituted dried cherries (regular or golden raisins would also fit the bill if you are so inclined). I also increased the amount slightly because 2/3 of a cup just didn’t seem like enough to distribute the cherries evenly into the muffins.

Rather than relying on butter or tons of oil, this recipe uses pumpkin puree and low-fat buttermilk to keep the muffins deliciously moist (only 2 tablespoons of oil required). If you do not have the individual spices for this recipe, you can substitute approximately 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice mixture with the same results (check out this recipe to make your own pumpkin pie spice).

Pumpkin-Cherry Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 375F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Whisk to combine.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, light brown sugar, oil, and egg. Using an electric mixture, beat 3 minutes on medium speed until batter is well blended. Gradually add flour mixture to bowl and beat at low speed just until all ingredients are combined.  Fold in cherries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack to cool.

Serve warm with a smear of butter, if desired (or top with a little cinnamon-sugar).

After months of speculation and harassment, I am finally posting again to the website and blog. Okay, maybe not harassment but some folks were certainly wondering what was going on. James and I had more than a few big life changes over the last six months, including an engagement, buying a house, moving, adopting two dogs, and planning a wedding for this coming weekend! I also embarked on a summer reading project that consisted of approximately 33 books. That’s quite a bit of stuff to cram into a few short months that went by all too fast.

That being said, it is good to be back! I am very exciting to be in the new house and breaking in the new kitchen, which has a new glass cooktop electric range. It is true the absence makes the heart grow fonder, because I certainly missed tinkering around in the kitchen. Now I am making up for lost time by cooking and baking up a storm, and I just started a new special project: Muffin Madness.

Fortunately, my schedule lightens up significantly after this week and I will be able to focus on setting up house and trying out some new recipes. Also, I have agreed to host Thanksgiving at the new house and plan to spice things up with some new takes on the traditional turkey dinner. There are some new recipes left over from summer as well that I never got around to posting, so hopefully I can get those up on the website soon.

I have missed cooking, baking, and writing about life here on the website and blog, so I am glad to be back and hope you can all forgive me for my absence. Every so often, I have taken a bit of a hiatus from cooking, though this one lasted a little bit longer than I expected. In the meantime, I have been scheming up new ideas for special projects, blog posts, and other fun things, so there is much more Sweet stuff to come!